


Skittles I

by olgushka



Series: Cats [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Cats, Fluff, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 06:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9423362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/olgushka/pseuds/olgushka
Summary: Josh finds a cat.





	

Josh sighs, stops in the middle of the sidewalk and jumps off his skateboard to tie his shoelaces. That’s when he hears a faint sound coming from the bushes near the empty road. He frowns, takes a few steps closer and notices a cardboard box lying upside down on the ground and a tiny black tail sticking out from underneath it. He kneels on the grass and slowly lifts the box to peek under it. He’s immediately greeted by a tiny black ball of fur with the most beautiful green eyes.

„Oh my Gosh! You're so cute!” Josh gasps and the kitten meows loudly at the sight of a human being. He picks it up from the ground and strokes its head. The animal easily fits in the palm of his hand. „You’re so tiny... What are you doing here, all alone, hmm?” He looks around but there’s no sign of anyone who could be the owner. The kitten lets out a loud noise again and starts chewing on Josh’s pinky. The drummer strokes its fur and feels every bone of the tiny creature. The kitten focuses on chewing his finger again and Josh cradles it against his chest.

„I can’t take you with me, I’m sorry.” He says, puts the cat back on the ground and stands up. It looks up at him and meows again when Josh bites his lip and with a heavy heart takes a step back. The kitten immediately follows him. „No, you can’t go with me. Shoo!” He warns, takes his skateboard and starts walking away but even after taking a few more steps he can still feel the kitten’s presence behind his back.

 _Don’t pet stray cats, Josh. They get attached too easily_. Tyler’s voice echoes in his head. 

He crosses the road and skates away, calling himself the worst names in the meantime. 

„Stupid, stupid.” He mumbles, speeding up. He stops only when he’s sure that he’s far enough. Josh looks over his shoulder but he knows it would be impossible for the kitten to follow him. He takes off his snapback and runs his fingers through his hair. „I’m so stupid.” He says angrily, leans against the brick wall and exhales. He tries not to think about the kitten but the guilt is stronger. _It probably hasn’t eaten for days. It lives under a cardboard box. What if it starts raining? Where will it go?_ „You’re so freaking stupid, Josh. So stupid.”

 

Tyler sits on the ground with his back pressed to the side of the tour bus and his face turned to the sun, plucking the strings of his ukulele when Josh appears out of nowhere and quickly climbs onto the bus without looking at the singer or even saying hello. Tyler notices the nervousness painted on his face so he stands up and follows him. He enters the small kitchen at the same time when Josh takes out a bottle of milk from the fridge and starts pouring it into a bowl.

„Hey. You okay?” Tyler asks, watching his weird behavior.

„Yes.” Josh nods quickly, avoiding his best friend's gaze but then he turns to the singer and looks at him pleadingly. „Please, don’t be mad?”

„Oh, God. I know this face. What have you done?”

„Nothing bad, I swear.”

„Josh.” Tyler warns, taking a step closer and blocking Josh's way of escape at the same time.

„You need to promise that you won’t yell.”

„I won’t yell. Now, what have you done?”

Josh hesitates but reaches inside the kangaroo pocket of his grey hoodie, takes out the kitten and puts it on the table right next to the bowl. Tyler's eyes widen and he opens his mouth but Josh quickly puts his hand against the singer’s lips just in time to muffle the yelling.

„Please, stop! Tyler! You will scare it! Please!” Josh begs, gently pushing Tyler away. The kitten looks up at them but then notices the bowl and starts to drink the milk. Tyler grabs the drummer’s wrist and rips his hand off his face.

„For God’s sake, we’ve talked about this!”

„I couldn’t just leave it there! It’s so tiny and thin and it was all alone! It would probably starve to death!” The drummer justifies himself.

„Josh, I know how much you love animals but you can’t bring every stray cat or a homeless dog to the tour bus!” Tyler rolls his eyes. „Feed it and get rid of it.”

„W-what?”

„It can’t stay here!” The singer raises his voice but then glances at the kitten and speaks calmly again. „Feed it and take it to the same place you brought it from. The tour bus is not a place for animals. Do you understand?”

Josh knows that the authority in Tyler's voice means that his decision is final so he drops his gaze to the floor and nods. He sits down on the couch and watches the kitten with the stinging sensation in his eyes. Tyler sighs and leaves the bus shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath.

 

Josh doesn't leave his bed for the next few hours so Tyler makes his way to the bunk area and knocks on the wall next to the drummer’s head. When there's no answer, Tyler pulls the curtain open and looks at Josh who stares at the ceiling.

„I’m not in the mood to talk.” The drummer says before Tyler can open his mouth.

„Are you still sulking because I didn’t let you take that _stupid_ cat with us? You know the rules, Josh. And for God’s sake, we’re on tour. Having a pet on tour is a suicide.”

„I know.” Josh mumbles and pulls the blanket under his chin after rolling onto his side and facing the wall.

„When we get back to Columbus after this tour, I will take you to the shelter and let you adopt a cat. Okay?”

„Sure. Can I go to sleep now?”

„Josh...”

„Leave me alone. Go play your _stupid_ ukulele or something.” Josh snaps.

„Stop acting like a child.” Tyler says. When Josh doesn't speak again, the singer sighs and closes the curtain. „I will wake you for the lunch stop.”

 

„Oh my God! We have a rat!” Marks shouts and jumps on the couch but then looks closer and frowns. „Wait… It’s not a rat. What the hell is that?”

Everyone immediately puts their feet up but looks down to the floor where Mark points his finger. Tyler sighs and rolls his eyes, puts his ukulele down and stares at the intruder. He shakes his head and picks the black ball up.

„This is a cat.” 

„A cat?” Mark looks completely taken aback.

„Of course it’s a cat.” Tyler says, holding the kitten on his eye-level and staring straight at it.

„What the hell _a cat_ is doing on the freaking _tour bus_ in the middle of the _highway_?” Michael asks, stepping closer and stroking the kitten behind its ear.

„Take a wild guess.”

„Does it have anything to do with our dear Josh I-Love-Every-Animal-On-This-Planet Dun?”

„Unfortunately.”

„What do we do?” Mark asks, looking at Tyler.

The singer looks back at him and smirks.

 

„Josh, wake up. Lunch time.” Tyler shakes him gently by the shoulder. 

Josh groans but opens his eyes. He removes the earphones from his ears, blinks a few times and moves his hand under the blanket but he doesn’t find what he’s looking for. He bolts out of the bed, forgetting about Tyler’s presence and looks around the room. He peeks into every single bed, leaving a big mess in every bunk. He knows that the kitten couldn’t go anywhere else since the door to the lounge and the back studio were closed.

„Looking for something?” Tyler asks and Josh turns around with a scared expression on his face. He shakes his head but keeps looking on the floor. He kneels on the carpet and peeks into the tight space under the bottom bunk. „It’s not here, Josh.” Tyler says and Josh finally understands what happened. He opens his mouth to speak but no sound comes out. He sits down on the floor in defeat, pulls his legs close to his chest and rests his forehead against his knees. „What were you thinking?” The singer raises his voice and Josh shrugs. „A freaking cat just traveled to another state with us. It was a really crap thing to do, sneaking an animal in here. Irresponsible and immature thing to do.”

„I’m sorry.” Josh offers and looks up at his best friend. „I was trying to-”

„I don’t care. You’re 28, Josh. Maybe it’s time to start thinking like an adult.” Tyler says, cutting him off. Josh swallows nervously and rubs his eyes. „You’re not gonna cry, are you?”

„Where is it?”

„We got rid of it. You know the rules so suck it up and come out to eat something.” Tyler says and turns to leave the bus. Josh’s eyes water and before he can stop himself, tears roll down his cheeks. He drops his forehead to his knees again and lets out a loud sob. „Josh? Oh, God. Dude. Hey, I’m just messing with you.” Tyler crouches in front of him and touches his arm. „Josh... It’s here, the cat is still here. Hey, look at me.”

„W-where?” He chokes out, lifting his head and focusing his gaze on Tyler’s face.

„Oh, dear.” Tyler's eyes soften and he tries to wipe the tears that keep streaming down the drummer's face. „Outside, they're all outside. They’re having a lot of fun together.”

Josh scrambles to his feet and pushes past Tyler, running out of the bus. He stops dead in his tracks at the sight before him: there’s Mark lying on his back on the ground with the kitten on his chest and Brad sitting cross-legged right next to him with his camera pointed at the animal. The drummer snaps out of his shock when a warm hand rests on his back.

„Your little friend decided to go on an adventure and sneaked out to the lounge when Michael was leaving the bunks.” Tyler smiles. „We’ve been playing with it for over an hour now.”

„I’m sorry.” Josh sniffles. „I couldn’t leave it there.”

„I know.”

„Are you angry?”

„Of course I’m angry, Josh. I’ve already had one big child here to take care of and now I have a cat.” The singer says. „First thing we do after we get to Seattle is to find a vet or some kind of animal shelter. They will take care of it.”

„N-no!”

„Josh, the cat _can’t_ go on tour with us. You _can’t_ keep it. A tour bus is _not_ a place for a cat. It’s not a place for _any_ animal.”

„But-”

„Josh.” Tyler says firmly. „Please. We’re not gonna argue over a stupid cat. It’s staying in Seattle. Mark promised to take care of everything when we will be preparing for the show. It can’t go with us. Period.” Tyler says and enters the restaurant.

 

After the show, a car takes them to the hotel. It was one of the most intense shows they’ve ever played and Josh feels like falling asleep standing up so he just follows the singer when Tyler leads them to their shared hotel room. 

„Hey. Great show.” A voice says when Tyler finally opens the door and Josh realizes that he didn't use the key or a card. He looks up and notices Mark sitting on the edge of the bed. There’s a black kitten asleep in his lap and the drummer stops in the middle of the room with his eyes wide open. He suddenly forgets about his exhaustion. „There you are.” Mark stands up and approaches Josh. When he places the cat on the drummer’s chest, Josh notices a pink collar with a name tag on its neck. „Since you’re back, it’s your turn. Your child is really clingy tonight, it didn’t want to let me leave this room. I expect a paycheck for babysitting at the end of this week.” Mark heads for the door, high-fiving Tyler in the process. „Oh. It’s a girl, by the way. We all thought that the name suits her so I let myself put it on the tag.”

Josh rotates a tiny paw-shaped tag in his fingers to notice the word _Skittles_ engraved in it.

„How- How did you know its… _her_ name?”

„Seriously, Josh. You’ve been calling her Skittles since you brought her to the tour bus for the first time to feed her.” Tyler says. „Don’t think I didn’t hear you talking to her.”

„There’s a box next to your bed.” Mark points his finger to the other side of the room. „There’s everything you will need. Alright, I think I’m done here. Goodnight, guys.”

With that, Mark leaves and closes the door behind him. Josh approaches the bed and puts the kitten on the top of the sheets where she immediately curls into a ball. He peeks inside the box and gasps: there are bowls and collars, cat food, toys, a kitty litter, a scratching post and other cat equipment. He turns around and looks at Tyler who stands there with a small smile on his lips.

„What does this mean?”

„What do you think this means?”

Josh looks inside the box again, then at the sleeping kitten and then back at Tyler again.

„Really?” Josh whispers.

Tyler nods. Before he can form a sentence, he’s being tackled to the ground in a bone-crushing hug. He ends up on the floor with his back pressed to the carpet and a heavy weight of another body on the top of his chest.

„Ow! Oh, God.” Tyler groans. „Get off!”

„Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Josh repeats frantically, leaving sloppy kisses on Tyler’s stubbly cheek.

„Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome.” The singer says, rubbing Josh’s back. „I couldn’t let you cry yourself to sleep every night, could I? But please, don’t bring any more animals to the tour bus.”

„She is special. We bonded the same exact moment when we looked ourselves in the eyes for the first time.”

„If she pees in my suitcase, she’s out.”

„If she’s out, I quit the band.”

„That’s some serious threat right here.” Tyler chuckles and pushes Josh's fringe from his forehead.

„Is she even allowed to be in this room?”

„Not really. But Michael paid some extra money and made an agreement with the hotel staff to let her stay overnight.”

Josh rolls off him and kneels on the floor. Tyler props himself up on his elbow and looks at the drummer.

„Thank you.” Josh says again. „Seriously, thank you so much. This means the world to me.”

There’s a loud _meow_ behind their backs and they turn their heads to the source of the sound. Skittles stands on the bed, dangerously close to the edge of the mattress but she doesn’t try to jump. Josh picks her up and puts her on the floor. She makes her way straight to Tyler, climbs on top of him and sits down on his stomach. She swipes her paw over her ear a few times and Tyler strokes her head with his finger.

„You’re cute, you know? And you’re lucky that Josh is cute too and it’s so damn hard for me to say _no_ to him.”


End file.
